Carnegie Medal presentation to Carnegie Hero Merrill O. Naylor

Carnegie Hero Fund Commission President Eric P. Zahren presented the Carnegie Medal to Carnegie Hero Merrill O. Naylor in a private ceremony held Jan. 24, 2018, in Stephens City, Va.

Naylor responded to his elderly neighbor’s burning home on Nov. 4, 2015. Naylor entered her home through a kitchen door, where flames burned on the ceiling. Crawling 15 feet toward the living room, Naylor found the woman on the floor. Unable to lift the woman, who outweighed him, Naylor told her to hug onto him as he reached under her arms. With flames burning overhead, he dragged her to the kitchen and outside to safety. Naylor suffered minor burns to his face, neck, and back.